Hi Barry,
I'll try and answer a few of these questions for you.
Bootcamp: yes you hold the option key down during boot up, then arrow
to the OS you want to boot from and press enter. So for example I have
my Macbook configured to boot Leopard by default and have XP installed
on a second partition. I would hold option during boot up, then right
arrow to XP and press enter, as Leopard would automatically be selected
on that screen.
Office: The OpenOffice.org 3.0 seems to work reasonably well. I have
only tried the word processor, but have heard others have had success
with the spreadsheet application etc.
Podcasts: I still use Juice for this under Windows, but for the most
part ITunes 8.X looks really accessible, so I'd probably give that a
shot.
Speaking of ITunes you also asked about an Apple ID for the ITunes
store. This is just a way to authorize your computer to play DRM
protected content and buy music from the ITunes store. If you just want
to import your own stuff you don't really need an Apple ID, but if you
want to make purchases or play DRM protected content you will need to
sign up for an apple ID. You can either use a mobile ME account for
this if you have already created one (this used to be called a dotMac
account) or you can sign up for an Apple ID using your existing email
address. I guess the best way to describe it is sort of like a
Microsoft Passport for the Mac.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Mitchell
----- Original Message ----- From: "Dj Paddy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X
bytheblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2008 7:16 AM
Subject: Finally here
Folks,
My gorgious little Mac Book pro has arrived today. it came with Boot
Camp and Vista already installed and configured.
I'll say what I've learnt already from a five minute conversation with
my good friend Erik Burggraaf who's on this list and what I've managed
to come across in my own time today. Then I'll probably ask a few
questions.
First a bit of background. I've been using PC's for 16 years or more
and am on my second Computer Science Degree. So I am very much a self
confessed geek! I've used all the Windows OS's bar Vista. I am looking
forward to installing Vmware Fusion and getting Linux up and running on
here.
The only time I ever used Mac was in my sighted days and that was at
least 10 years ago at school, where I only really used the Word
Processor and played Shuffle Board!
Erik told me about the useful,
key layout,
bottom left fn, ctrl, options , command.
ctrl options is vo keys,
ctrl options f8 quick start guide for voice over (I did go through this
and am finding the VO key combinations not to awkward to perform)
ctrl options k for keyboard help and esc to turn off (well impressed
with this).
fn f1 lower brightness fn f2 raise brightnesss (handy I expect for
battery and prevent nosy parkers in the lab looking at my screen! )
fn f11 lower volume fn12 raise volume.
f13 top right - eject cd.
The eject CD was a relief as I rang Erik in a bit of a flap because I'd
one stuck in there. It's really brought me back to, "day one", with a
PC this Mac. Only I am finding partly because of experience, and going
through the tutorial it's fairly intuitive.
I've found Boot Camp and can reboot into Vista and vice versa.
I've had a look at Itunes Front Row, System Preferences, messe arund
with the different voices for voice over, had a look at Mail but not set
an account up in there yet. I've also looked at the Dock, and Safari.
Oh yes and although i heard Eriks when i stayed there in August/
September the sound system still blows me away on this!
I have the Voice Over Daizy manual here and am planning on looking at it
this evening.
Several questions though.
1. Boot Camp.
Does anyone know the exact keys and timing for when to press them to
select the OS on power-up?
I read on,
http://www.winsupersite.com
It was Options and then you used the arrows to select the OS, but that
was for Tiger.
2. Apple account/ID or something?
I got prompted for this to enter the Itunes store? I dont' have one do
I? There wasn't a create.
3. Mail.
Can I setup an apple mail account to use in there untill such time that
I may decide to migrate my various other mail accounts into the Mac
World?
4. Voice Over and HTML.
Having used Windows Screenreaders I've gotten used to being able to
navigate these like I could in a word processor because of the buffer
the text is placed into. How to I intract with HTML like this or...?
I've landed on several HTML Text in Help files and when I do VO Down
Cursor to Interact it just bongs at me. though I can Interact with
other things.
5. Podcasting.
What application is people using for this? I've noticed Podcast Catcher
in Utilitys but again it's asking me for a password along side my
username?
6. Format Of USB Sticks.
Do I need to turn USB ports on in Mac OS? If so how? When I plugged my
USB stick in nothign happened. At first I thought this was because it
was FAT32, but was expecting something?
If I need to format a USB Stick to use on the Mac any stps on how to do
this and how do I get it to see a FAT32 disk just so I can format it to
Mac OSX format? Or do I need to go use Partition Magic on Windows to
prep the disc?
7. Updates/maintenance
I have airport tuned on and it connected to my WIFI Network. Will the
system auto update and run cleanups or is there somewhere I can go to
configure this stuff?
8. Office Suite.
What one are people using and if Open Office how do I obtain it and
install it? Never installed an App onto a Mac but have heard something
about dropping them onto the Dock or into the Apps folder? no Wizards
or Unzipping packages?
9 Further learning.
Any recommended resources other than the Voice Over Daisy manual for
teaching myself?
Thanks heeps for any and all answers, I knwo this is a lot but I'm
pressed for time as I was meant to have had this system 7 weeks ago,
(granted it means I got the new Mac Pro now), but I need to get up to
speed here as quickly as possible for final year projects.
Dj Paddy
